Choose your refresh rate Refresh rates matter most while watching action movies, sports, and fast-paced gaming. For most users, a TV, projector, or monitor that can produce 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate is more than enough, but for anyone who watches a lot of action or is a gamer, 120Hz is the minimum you should choose.
In contrast, a TV with a refresh rate of 120Hz does not have to do anything special to display video or film, as 120 is divisible by both 24 and 30. This means that, in general, 120Hz will result in a smoother viewing experience.
60FPS will look the same at 60Hz and 120Hz when using a variable refresh rate (VRR), so in order to benefit from a high refresh rate the most, you'll need to have over 60FPS. If you're not using VRR, 120Hz can make 60FPS content appear a bit smoother as screen tearing is less noticeable and you get lower input lag.
The higher the number, the smoother the screen will appear to the human eye. This means that a 120Hz display – which updates itself 120 times a second – will look noticeable slicker and more natural than your average 60Hz screen which only updates itself 60 times a second.
Is 60Hz good for 4k movies? For most people, a TV with a 60Hz refresh rate is good enough since there isn't much 4k content that goes past 60 fps. However, 120Hz TVs with HDMI 2.1 support are beneficial to gamers as they allow for higher frame rates.
Do I need 120Hz for Netflix? To watch Netflix in Ultra HD, you need: A 60Hz TV or computer monitor compatible with Ultra HD streaming from Netflix.
Artificially pumping the content's frame rate to 60 or above (usually 120Hz for higher-end TVs) can produce what's known as the "soap opera effect." It makes the TV show or movie look unnaturally fluid and probably unlike what the directors, cinematographers, and engineers intended.
Refresh rates matter most while watching action movies, sports, and fast-paced gaming. For most users, a TV, projector, or monitor that can produce 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate is more than enough, but for anyone who watches a lot of action or is a gamer, 120Hz is the minimum you should choose.
The frames are set in stone (as it were) therefore there is no difference between watching a movie on a 60Hz, 100Hz, 144Hz monitor, they will all look almost exactly the same. What you should be aware of is the screen technology used.
Netflix offers limited high frame rate content (50fps or 60fps), but the majority of our catalog and viewing hours can be attributed to members watching 23.97 to 30fps content.
120Hz and even 144Hz refresh rates have become the norm in the last few years on all mid to high-end TVs. This faster refresh rate helps TVs deliver a great gaming experience, and most of them are ideal for console gaming because they support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for 4k @ 120Hz gaming.
The refresh rate on a 4K TV will often be 120 Hz – even though some will claim to have more – and cheaper models may only be 60 Hz. The refresh rates of the featured models are listed in the best OLED and LED flat-screen TVs in 2022.
For most people, a TV with a 60Hz refresh rate is good enough since there isn't much 4k content that goes past 60 fps. However, 120Hz TVs with HDMI 2.1 support are beneficial to gamers as they allow for higher frame rates.
As long as you have at least HDMI 1.4, 120Hz is doable on your compatible TV or monitor. You can even do up to 144Hz if your display supports it. For uncompressed higher resolutions, though, HDMI 120Hz connections need a next-generation HDMI connection.
High frame rates capture more images per second, which makes for smoother video. Low frame rates capture fewer still images per second, which makes for choppier video. Frame rate is measured by the number of frames per second, commonly abbreviated to fps.
There's no right or wrong refresh rate. Most people are okay with a 60Hz refresh rate for everyday use because they're accustomed to it, and many are also perfectly content gaming at 60Hz, so it depends entirely on your usage, preference, and tolerance.
As for display, Netflix requires a minimal 60Hz refresh rate to depict 4K content. If you select a 4K multimedia monitor or other display for some reason run at 30Hz, the result would be no 4K for you.
The majority of Hollywood movies, for example, are shot and produced at 24 frames per second (fps), so a 60Hz monitor will easily offer smooth playback. But having a 120Hz monitor (or even faster) won't provide any visible benefit to playback quality.
How Hz affects what you're watching or playing. A higher refresh rate means everything you watch on your TV will look smoother. If you're watching sports or an action movie, a TV with a higher refresh rate will reduce any motion blur you may see.
Random blind tests have shown that the average user is likely to notice a perceptible difference—at least in gaming-related applications. A study conducted by Hardware.info all the way back in 2013 found that an overwhelming majority of gamers (nearly 9 out of 10) were able to distinguish between 60Hz and 120Hz.
Here's the basics: Refresh rate is the number time times per second (written in hertz, or Hz) a TV refreshes its image. Movies are almost always filmed 24 frames per second, or 24Hz. Live TV shows at 30 or 60.
A higher refresh rate means a smoother-looking screen that's easier on the eyes. So, if you're trying to ease your eyestrain, a refresh rate of 120 Hz is optimal. There's no need to pursue those high-end 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitors from Amazon or Best Buy.
If you prioritize smoother motion, then 1080p on a 120Hz monitor will be better for you. This is because a higher refresh rate allows for smoother and more fluid movement, which can be particularly beneficial for fast-paced gaming or action scenes in movies.
The eye is more sensitive to flicker at high brightness levels and in your peripheral vision, so for things that you are looking directly at, 60 Hz is usually a high enough frequency to avoid the perception of flicker. So, in that particular case, you can't see a difference between 60 and 120 Hz.